Refrigerating apparatus



March 24, 1931. E, N, JAMES 1,797,421

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 9, 1929 lll lll, Il

erratum Patented Mar. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT or-FICE EDWARD N.JAMES, orv DAYTON, onIo, AssIGNoR To FRIGIDAIRE eoRroRATIN, or A DAYTON,R10, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE Y REFRIGERAIING APPARATUS Application ledVll'anuary 9, 1929.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and particularly to animprove construction of evaporators for such apparatus.

fi; One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improvedevaporator construction which is simple and economical to build, andwhich is light without sacrificing sturdiness or strength.

Another object is to provide an improved form of evaporator containerhaving means for confining a plastic gasket between the container andits closure to prevent undue mashingor thinning of the gasket.

vMore specifically 1t is an `object of the invention to provide animproved connection between the evaporator container and removable coverwhich will effectively prevent water from freezing between the container2o and the cover. v

\ Still another object is to provide an improved construction which doesnot depend upon soldering or welding to form either a mechanicalconnection or a luid seal between parts. y,

Further objects and advantages of` the present invention will beapparent from the vfollowing description, reference beinghad to theaccompanying drawing, wherein a preferred form of the present inventionis clearly shown.

The single ii re of the drawings is a vertical longitu inal section of aportion of a refrigerating evaporator embodyingthe invention. f

Refri erating evaporators includin a header orming a reservoir forliquid re rigerant, a number of loops of tubing joined to the header forcirculating refrigerant, and a removable closure plate for the headercarrying a float-controlled valve for regulating the quantity of liquidrefrigerant in the evaporator, have heretofore been made,

an example of such general construction being shown i-n the applicationof Otto M. Summers, Serial No. 266,397, filed March 31, 1928, It hasbeen the custom to construct the headers of these eva orators of a drawnmetal shell, usually of rass. Because the closure E3k plate carriesanumber of quite heavy valves,

inder 10 ad]aee n t,the lange 12. The ring Serial No. 331,288.

its construction must be necessarily heavy, and because this heavyassembly of plate valves must be removably secured to th'e thin sheetmetal shell it is necessary to provide a very substantiall anchorindevice-to which the plate may be secured. t has been customary to formthis anchorin device as a heavy forged brass ring or doug nut which issoldered in the end of the shell' and provided with tapped holes forreceiving bolts for securing the header in place. This type ofconstruction has necessarily resulted in an extremely heavy evaporatorand one which hasV been expensive to manufacture. Another undesirablefeature of evaporators of this type is that the soldered connection ofthe shell to the ring is subject in certain instances to electrolyticdecomposition. Furthermore it has been found thatV during operationwater will condense on the evaporator and collect in the crevice betweenthe plate and the ring outside of the usual sealing gasket. This waterfreezes in the crevice land damages the evaporator.

My inventioin is concerned among other thin s with overcoming theabove-mentioned disa vantages in prior constructions.

Referring to the drawings 1() designates a cylindrical sheet metal shellforming the main body of the header to which are connected a number oftubes 11 for circulating refrigerant. The particular method ofconnecting the tubes is not shown herein but a solderless mechanicalconnection is preferred such as is shown in the applicaton of Otto M.Summers for refrigerating apparatus, Serial No. 322,749, filed November30, 1928. The open 4 end oi' the shell or 'body of the header is formedinto a flange 12 which projects out-4 wardly substantially at right anles to the 4 cylindrical wall. The outer edge o the -flange is turnedinto, a cylindrical lip 14 which is substantially perpendicular to theflange and hence parallel to the wall 10. A circular plate 16 forms aclosure for the container or header and is secured thereto by means ofbolts 18 which pass through the plate 16 and flange 12. The bolts arethreaded into a reinforcing ring 2O which surrounds the cyly 12uto sealthe joint between them. Y

his

4vent outward and tits within the shell 10.

vSince the gasket may flow considerably when pressure is exerted by theclamping bolts, means is provided for preventing the gasket from flowingont from between the flange and the plate. The lip 14, above reerred to,confines the gasket at its outer edge,`

the plate 1G being of such a size as to lit `airly accurately within thelip 14 and preow of the gasket. Inward flow of the gasket is preventedby the flange or boss 24 which is 'formed in the header lll The lip 14,in fitting over the plate 16 prevents any crevice between the plate.16and flange 12 which might receive water condensed on the eva porator.

The cover plate 16 may be formed in any suitable manner as by casting,forging or punching, but' I prefer to use the punched torni of plate asshown in the drawings. The i head plate is provided with a pair otopenings 26 and 27 into which are soldered, brazed, welded or otherwisesecured bosses 28 and 29 respectively for receiving an outlet valve 30and an inlet valve 3l. The inlet valve boss 29 is threaded internally asshown to receive 'a screw-threaded portion 32 of t-he inlet valve 31.The outlet boss 28 isprovided with a number of tapped holes 33 whichreceive bolts 34 for clamping the outlet valve housing 30 to the boss.Any suitable gasket 35 is used to seal the connection between the outletvalve and the boss 28, such gasket being confined between shoulders 36on the boss and 37 on the housing.

The inlet valve housing is threaded into the inlet boss 29 by means ofthe tapered thread shown, which forms an eli'ective seal as iswell-known. Since the presence of the inlet valve prevents the rotationof the outlet valve in the opening in the boss 28 which would benecessary for a similar method of attachment) the outlet valve housingmust be secured to the plate by means such as bolts 34 which require norelative movement between the head and valve.

A float supporting bracket is attached to the inlet boss 29 within theheader 10. This bracket consists of a pair of arms 40 integrally formedwith a pair of arms 42. The latter fit about the boss 29 and are clampedthereto by means of the bolt 43 which preferably hes in a recess 44 andthus prevents rotation of the bracket about the boss or slipping ofracket along the boss. A float. arm 46 is mounted between the arms 40upon a pivot 47 and carries a float 48. The arm 46 isl rovided with astop 49 which strikes the autment 50 formed integrally with the arms 40and 42 and thus limits downward movement of the float. The float arm 46carries loosely pivoted needle valve 52, the end of which is disposed inan opening 53 in the inlet boss 29, said opening forming a guide for theneedle valve. The valve seats against the valve seat 54 adjacent theduct 55 which conveys liquid refrigerant from the inlet valve 31 to theinterior of the header.'y

The needle valve is opened and closed in accordance with the position ofthe float 48 to maintain a substantially constant quantity of liquid inthe header as is well known.

To the inside ofthe outlet boss 28 is'attached an outlet tube whosemouth or en-f- ,trance (31 is disposed parallel to thc liquid level andat a considerable dist ance above it. Below the outlet G1 are one ormore oil drain holes G2 while the battle (53 is placed below the outlettube (5() to prevent liquid refrigerant from splashing into the outlettube.

' While theV form ot' embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed,constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claim whichfollows.l

What is claimed is as follows:

In an evaporator forrefrigerating apparatus of the type having acontainer forming a reservoir for volatile liquid refrigerant, anintegral drawn sheet metal shell comprising a portion forming acontainer; a flange projecting perpendicularly outward from thecontainer for receiving a lastic gasket and a lipprojectingsubstantially perpendicularly from the flange for confiningthe gasket within the flange; a plastic gasket disposed adjacent theflange within the lip, a closure for 'the container adjacent the gasket,the closure having a shoulder disposed inside of the gasket and flangewhereby the gasket is coinpletely enclosed between and lip, areinforcing ring on the opposite side of the flange vfrom the gasket,and bolts passing through the gasket and flange and engaging said ringto form a sealed joint between the closure and the container.

In testimony whereof I hereto aix my signature.

EDWARD N. JAMES.

the closure, flange

